Sodium bicarbonate rockets that are called Alka Seltzer rockets are used in classrooms allover the world. Alka-Seltzer rockets have traditionally been done with water and an effervescent tablet (Alka-Seltzer). We decided to change the substances in which the tablet was going to be in. Not only were we going to use water, but also coke. We were not sure if the outcome would be different if we included coca cola. The items that we used for this experiment were two film canisters, coca cola, water, a laptop, Alka-Seltzer and a meter stick.
Hypothesis
A carbonated beverage will make the canister go further than water. Carbonated drinks are more pressurized when in a closed space. Water does not have any pressure so the Alka-seltzer would be the only thing creating pressure
Procedure
We took half a tablet of generic Alka-seltzer and 5 ML of the liquid we were going to use and mixed it in a film canister. We then set the canister cap down on the ground in front of a meter stick. We then captured the video with logger pro. After the canister shot off we analyzed the footage and found out how long it took for the canister to reach the top of the meter stick. Knowing that information let us find out how many meters per second it was going. We only measured how fast it took for the canister to go one meter. We did not see if it slowed down after that or how far it went when it got past the one meter-mark.
Results
Coke
7.14 m/s
This one was inconsistent with the rest of the tests. Took longer to reach the one meter mark than any of the other experiments.
12.5 m/s
20 m/s
Water
20 m/s
16.67 m/s
14.28 m/s
Conclusion
After several trials of creating Alka-Seltzer rockets with water, and Coca Cola we discovered that our hypothesis was not completely correct. In some trials water made the rocket go higher and faster then Coca Cola. Changing the liquids did not make a huge difference; both Coca Cola and Water had their peaks. One thing that we noticed was that the less amount of liquid and the smaller the tablet, the higher the rocket goes.
Table of Contents
Alka-Seltzer and Coke Rockets
Angel and Patrick
Introduction
Sodium bicarbonate rockets that are called Alka Seltzer rockets are used in classrooms allover the world. Alka-Seltzer rockets have traditionally been done with water and an effervescent tablet (Alka-Seltzer). We decided to change the substances in which the tablet was going to be in. Not only were we going to use water, but also coke. We were not sure if the outcome would be different if we included coca cola. The items that we used for this experiment were two film canisters, coca cola, water, a laptop, Alka-Seltzer and a meter stick.
Hypothesis
A carbonated beverage will make the canister go further than water. Carbonated drinks are more pressurized when in a closed space. Water does not have any pressure so the Alka-seltzer would be the only thing creating pressure
Procedure
We took half a tablet of generic Alka-seltzer and 5 ML of the liquid we were going to use and mixed it in a film canister. We then set the canister cap down on the ground in front of a meter stick. We then captured the video with logger pro. After the canister shot off we analyzed the footage and found out how long it took for the canister to reach the top of the meter stick. Knowing that information let us find out how many meters per second it was going. We only measured how fast it took for the canister to go one meter. We did not see if it slowed down after that or how far it went when it got past the one meter-mark.
Results
Coke
7.14 m/s
This one was inconsistent with the rest of the tests. Took longer to reach the one meter mark than any of the other experiments.
12.5 m/s
20 m/s
Water
20 m/s
16.67 m/s
14.28 m/s
Conclusion
After several trials of creating Alka-Seltzer rockets with water, and Coca Cola we discovered that our hypothesis was not completely correct. In some trials water made the rocket go higher and faster then Coca Cola. Changing the liquids did not make a huge difference; both Coca Cola and Water had their peaks. One thing that we noticed was that the less amount of liquid and the smaller the tablet, the higher the rocket goes.
References
Swenson, Jim. "Alka Seltzer Reaction." NEWTON/ANL Home Page. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem03/chem03749.htm>.
"Alka-Seltzer Plus - Student Science Experiments." Alka-Seltzer -- Alka Seltzer Plus. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://www.alka-seltzer.com/asp/student_experiments.html>.
Passerotti, Mike. "Alka-Seltzer® Rockets." Sci-Experiments. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://www.sci-experiments.com/seltzer_rocket/seltzer.html>.